The Shinra plane glided through the sky with its five weary passengers on board. Rene had crashed, sprawling herself over two seats, deep in slumber. Rude sat with his head leaned back on the seat, possibly asleep – no one could really tell through his sunglasses which Tseng had been thoughtful enough to bring with him. Reno sat unbuckled, elbows resting on his knees and hands dangling, lost in thought. Every once in a while he would shake his head slightly as if her were thinking the unimaginable. Tseng sat next to Elena who was fast asleep.

He looked up almost sympathetically at the mean looking bruises on her neck. Lifting his hand up, he ran a thumb over one of the welts. It was a large bump and hot to the touch. Her eyes fluttered as Tseng probed the overly-sensitive sore spot.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up," he apologized.

Elena licked her lips before she spoke, trying not to move her neck. "Its okay, I don't think I was sleeping," she said rather hoarsely.

Tseng nodded, unsure of what to say. That usually didn't happen to him. At last he nodded. "Try and get some rest. It will be a long flight otherwise."

Elena gave a small, tired smile and closed her eyes again.

The glossy white plane touched down with a loud squeak as the tires hit the runway. Guards and mechanics were there to greet them as the door opened. One of the SOLDIERS had a wheelchair in front of him, ready to cart Rene off to her family.

Tseng held out an arm for Elena as he escorted her off the jet. "Let's get you to the infirmary," he said.

"Common, Rude. I'll drop you off," said Reno as they headed towards the parking deck.

"Tseng, I really don't think I need to go," said Elena. "They're bruises. They'll just stick me in a bed for a few days, and I can do that at home."

"I'd feel better if you had them looked at," said Tseng.

"I just really want to go home, Tseng," she said softly. As her eyes watered she cursed herself, while at the same time praying that no tears would fall in front of her boss.

"…Alright. But if I don't think they look any better tomorrow when I check in on you, I'm taking you straight to a doctor," said Tseng, noticing the tears in her eyes.

She made a feeble attempt to nod and swallowed hard, as if to suck the brimming tears away from her eyes. Tseng stepped directly in front of her and placed his hands lightly on her shoulders, looking her straight in the eyes.

"You did well. I'm proud of you. If you ever questioned your being a Turk, this should reassure you that you are where you belong." Tseng said quietly.

Elena's groggy mind suddenly picked up momentum. "I made a lot of mistakes."

"Training and real life missions are different, Elena. A textbook can't tell you how to handle every situation. Mission's over, the objective has been met…I would count this as a success."

Elena remained quiet. Tseng offered her his arm again as they silently walked to his car.

Rude sat in the passenger seat, sneaking a sideways glance at Reno every so often. He wasn't his normal self; he was quiet, tight-lipped, and made jerky movements as he steered the car.

It was Rude's personal philosophy to not butt into people's lives, but he decided to make an exception.

"Talk to me, Reno."

Reno cracked his neck as he drove, searching for words. "It's nothing."

"Don't give me that crap, Reno."

There was a long silence for what seemed like an eternity. Finally Reno spoke. "You remember that night where I said I wanted to apologize to Elena? I wrote her a note and had Tseng give it to her before she left. They found it."

"Who found it?"

"AGP. They found it and saw the Shinra logo and my name. I blew her cover."

Rude was stunned. "Man, Reno…" he said sympathetically. He took a deep breath. "Look, it's not your fault. It's not anyone's fault. This job has its risks, and getting caught is one of them. And I think it says a lot that we all got out of there safely."

Reno said nothing as he turned into Rude's apartment complex.

"Reno, you're staying here tonight," ordered Rude.

"I can handle myself, Rude," Reno said somewhat icily.

"…No, Reno, I don't think you can."

Tseng unlocked Elena's apartment and walked inside with her. "Are you going to be alright?" he asked.

"Once I have a shower, I'll be ten times better," she said.

"I'll be back tomorrow, we can talk then," said Tseng.

She made somewhat of a grimaced face. "Alright."

"Is there anything you need before I go?"

Ignoring the pain, she threw her arms around Tseng's body and hugged him tightly. Almost thrown off guard, it only took him a second to hug her back just as tightly.

A/N: 19 July 2004 – Wow. Okay, I think one more chapter should do it! I should have finished and up by next week. If you have any comments or suggestions, I really would love to hear them! I promise I'll see you soon!!